Request a Grave be Cleaned by the Friends
If you would like one of our volunteers to clean your family grave for a donation, please contact us by email.
How to Approach Cleaning a Grave
On this page:
We are happy to share some tips and tricks for how best to approach looking after a family plot at Karori Cemetery.
- Health & Safety
- Green Waste
Health & Safety
Hazards
Before starting work caring for a family plot, it is worth looking about for any hazards. Some examples may be:
- Low hanging branches
- Broken glass or ceramics left in the grave for flowers
- Thistles and other plants that could irritate
- Weak or unstable headstones
- Long grass which could be concealing stairs or steps
Plot Construction
Then there is the plot itself. The concrete used to construct the plots at Karori Cemetery is mostly unreinforced. What might appear to be a solid surface (such as the top or ledger) may be concealing an air pocket below, with the risk of collapse. It might be safest to work your way around the outside of the plot rather than standing in it.
Check Before You Start
Sometimes what appears to be a grass filled plot is actually grass and dirt built up over the concrete, which may have cracks or depressions in it. Check in an easily reachable corner first, to see what you’re working with.
Avoid leaning or pulling on any headstones as they sometimes have weak connections at their base.
Come Prepared
Dress for the weather. Wear a hat and sunscreen if necessary. Bring a drink bottle. Close toed shoes, long sleeves and gardening gloves are recommended. Be safe. Work slowly and carefully. Don’t try to do too much – come again another day to finish or bring someone to help you.
Enjoy what you have achieved.
Green Waste
If cleaning the plot generates some green waste, this can be left next to a bin in the cemetery and the cemetery team will remove it. If there is no bin near where you are working, we suggest leaving it at the end of a row so that it can be seen to be removed. All the grassed areas between and behind plots contain burials that are not marked, and so are not appropriate for green waste placement.
